State Game Lands Number 295
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
4,411 acres7.4 mi of trail
Jeep Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Nicholas · CC BY 2.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Porter Township
36% of Porter Township’s land is conserved: 5,949 acres
The biggest trail networks: State Game Lands Number 295 (7.4 mi), Porter Township Park (0.5 mi). 45% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 9.1 miles of mapped trail cross Porter Township, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
36%
5,949 acres · of 25.6 sq mi of land
Trails
9.1 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
17 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
45%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,864 ft
Big Mountain
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Porter Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Porter Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Porter Township is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Porter Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land36% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (17 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home45% of residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 65%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Porter Township’s 36% is ahead of 94% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 44% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is State Game Lands Number 295, with 7.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Porter Township Park
Managed by Porter Township, PA
15 acres0.5 mi of trail
Walking Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
State Game Lands Number 255
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
707 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Bald Eagle State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
19 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 5 parks & preserves
State Game Lands Number 2954,411 acres · 7.4 mi of trail · Pennsylvania Game Commission
DirectionsPorter Township Park15 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Porter Township, PA
DirectionsState Game Lands Number 255707 acres · Pennsylvania Game Commission
Bald Eagle State Forest19 acres · Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
Clintondale Park2 acres
Who protects it
5,949 conserved acres
36% of Porter Township’s land. Who manages Porter Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife5,108 ac
County1,725 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits343 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service304 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)75 ac
State natural resources22 ac
State Resource Management Area · 5,117 acAgricultural Easement · 1,725 acFederal Other or Unknown · 304 acForest Stewardship Easement · 229 acConservation Easement · 189 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 667 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Game Land 295 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 4,387 | Open |
| State Game Land 255 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 707 | Open |
| Lamar National Fish Hatchery And Northeast Fishery Center Federal Other or Unknown | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 304 | Restricted |
| Bald Eagle State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 22 | Open |
| Cedar Creek Springs State Other or Unknown | State fish & wildlife | 14 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Porter Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Porter Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Fishing spots in Porter Township
1 fishing spot without a name on the map.
Peaks in Porter Township
Big Mountain1,864 ft elevation · In State Game Lands Number 295
DirectionsCampgrounds in Porter Township
1 campground without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 4.6 miHorses · 4.6 miUnpaved · 0.6 mi
Jeep Trail0.5 mi
Walking Trail0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
1Baseball
1Softball
1Beach volleyball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Porter Township: April to August
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 39 | 48 | 62 | 72 | 80 | 85 | 83 | 75 | 63 | 50 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.2 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.2 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Porter Township →
Next door
Porter Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Beech Creek Township93 miLamar Township39 miLiberty Township21 miLogan Township16 miPorter Township9.1 miMarion Township4.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Porter Township | 36% | 0.4 | 11 | 45% | B |
| Logan Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Beech Creek Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Liberty Township | 29% | 0.9 | 1,111 | 43% | A |
| Lamar Township | 43% | 0.9 | 11 | 24% | B+ |
| Marion Township | 7% | 0.2 | 64 | 8% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Porter Township
Where can I hike in Porter Township?
The longest trail networks: State Game Lands Number 295, 7.4 miles; Porter Township Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Porter Township is conserved land?
36% of its land, against a typical 8% for a Pennsylvania town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Porter Township’s trails?
State Game Lands Number 295 and Porter Township Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Porter Township?
78,572 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Porter Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5,175 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Porter Township have?
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Porter Township neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →